Winner Take All
by John Bigboote
Summary: Man. I just used the title of an episode of Viper from Season 2. I hate Season 2. I must be losing my damn mind.
1. Openings

"_Seiya, it hurts."_

\- Princess Tiana, Cautious Hero Chapter 99

"_My head feels like it's going to explode."_

\- Detective Joe Astor, Viper Episode 78

* * *

The Demon Lord Artemaeus screamed as he died for the second time. It all happened in such a quick, violent, and desperate attack. Seiya shoved his sword straight through his eye, ripping the monster's brain in two just as he finished regenerating. The corpse of the half-decapitated Demon Lord crashed to the floor, never to move again.

Seiya slowly hobbled out of the dust with his head slouched forward. One of his arms weakly dragged the edge of his sword across the floor while the other arm flopped broken at his side. The front of his armor was drenched crimson, and he struggled to breathe with every agonized step. The demon's claws had punctured his neck and chest.

Princess Tiana was sprawled on the floor with a long severed tongue still coiled around her waist. Seiya forced himself to stagger closer and closer toward her until he finally collapsed beside her.

Tiana frantically sat up and freed herself from the rope-like appendage. She crawled on her knees and rolled Seiya toward her so his head could rest in her lap. She looked down at him with fright, uncertainty, and sorrow growing on her face. He gazed back up at her as if he were looking up the entire world he had just saved.

Colt and Ariadoa were gone. He knew he'd be joining them soon. As many mistakes they had made preparing for the final battle with the Demon Lord, he was relieved his suicide attack had been enough to save the party from total defeat.

His blurring vision prevented him from seeing the splotches of blood on Tiana's dress at first. As soon as he noticed, his eyes filled with panic.

"Tiana, you're hurt!" he strained his punctured lungs to raise his voice. "Did he have time to… ?"

Tiana closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. She brushed her shawl away from her arm so he can see the small gash on her shoulder.

"He only got me here. It just stings a little. But I'm fine, Seiya. We're both fine."

She gently guided his head further into her lap, letting his ear rest against her waist to calm his worst fears. He finally let out a sigh that didn't sound painful.

"Did any of your MP recharge yet?" he quietly asked the healer.

"Not for a while," Tiana replied with regret. "I used up everything I had on his first form."

"Save it so you can heal your cut. It shouldn't take much," Seiya said for her safety, resigning himself to the inevitable. "I'm not going to be needing it anymore."

Tiana's head sank as her eyes started to burn. Seiya was only starting to grow cold, but his beloved was already shivering. He reached up and brushed her on the cheek to offer her the small amount of comfort he could manage.

"I guess I'll never get to meet our little one. I was going to train him to use my sword."

Tiana swallowed a lump in her throat, forcing herself to smile to hold back her tears.

"Don't you mean you were going to let her wear my cap?"

But then her sorrow came creeping back. The thoughts of losing him, losing everyone who had traveled together in their party, became too much. She was the healer. She was just there for support. Even Colt could have blasted his way out of a tough bind, but how was she ever going to manage by herself?

She couldn't hide the realization her one true love was dying in her arms. The thoughts toward her future and the baby's were just as dark and foreboding as the demonic ruins surrounding her. The den had been cleansed of all of its evil inhabitants, but its aura still haunted her.

"Seiya, I… I'm scared. I'm not sure I can do this on my own."

"Are you kidding?" Seiya said with a small, weak chuckle to inspire her. "You must be way stronger than me if you're the one who gets all the experience for killing the Demon Lord. Our kid is bundled up in the best armor they can get. Just make sure they stay in there until they're strong enough to fight on their own, okay?"

Tiana nodded with a soft whimper as the moisture built up in her eyes. Seiya brushed the brunette curtains over her ear as his breaths slowed and his voice grew steadily fainter.

"Even if we had all made it through this, I'm not sure Aria would've been able to let me stay. We finished what we were supposed to do. We saved everyone. I would have been dead the first week I was brought here if it weren't for your healing."

"But you're not going to be there when I'm a mom," Tiana said with a heartbroken voice, dreading the outcome that felt like the worst thing next to losing their baby completely. "What am I going to do without you?"

"It's gonna be okay, Tiana," Seiya said as his eyes slowly closed to rest. A faint smile crossed his mouth as he sighed. "Something will… work out…"

His hand fell from her cheek and dropped to the floor. The hero was gone.

Tiana cradled Seiya's head against her chest as she curled up in grief. Her sobbing filled the halls of the empty den as her emotions came flooding out. With all of her holy power, she prayed for the safe passage of his spirit, the wellbeing of herself, and the future of their child.

* * *

_Author's note: I don't like sand._

_Author's other note: Do you think I should go on a long-winded historical analysis detailing how things very likely ARE going to work out perfectly fine for Tiana?_

_Author's other other note: Okay I'm gonna do the historical thingy. I got a copy of Ian Mortimer's "The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England" sitting beside me so I'm totally an expert on this._

_Let's tackle the most sketchy issue first: We don't really know the specifics of Seiya's and Tiana's relationship based on their flashbacks, and Seiya Prime wasn't exactly the most informed dude who decided to do things based on where they could lead in the future, so there's a high chance Tiana is having a baby out of wedlock. It's a scary concept at first, but it's really not that bad when you think about it in context. You're looking at a situation where she's a princess with an illegitimate child of some popular knight she got a little snuggly with. The kid's not going to be up for any promotions through the nobility, but he or she doesn't really need them. I'm sure Princess Mom will have plenty of friends and confidants to help her out even if there's a lot of hush-hush, "he said, she said" being whispered around concerning the child's parentage. It's not the greeeatest spot Tiana could wind up with, but she'll do fine for herself and the baby given the setting. No one in their right mind is going to treat a nice girl like her like a pariah and toss her into poverty after what she put herself through for the world's sake._

_But if we assume Seiya and Tiana WERE married before the father died and the baby was born? Now we're talking. That's where we start to see some interesting possibilities for the social hierarchy. I lean toward this interpretation more because it makes Seiya's and Tiana's relationship more sweet and really shows you they wanted to make this work before that horrible bit of demon business got in the way. Say Seiya and Tiana kicked it off together when Seiya first accepted his quest, then married somewhere roughly halfway into the quest, with the pregnancy popping up around the same time. Maybe the pregnancy CAUSED the marriage, maybe it didn't. Maybe the baby is just a product of innocent recklessness. Or maybe it happened as a happy accident because at some point Tiana did something like the Priestess from Goblin Slayer's revival spell for Seiya, but her version required sex. In any of those cases, now you've got a situation where Tiana is a widowed noble raising the rightful child of her late husband. If the kid's a girl, Tiana's not going to have any new political advantages, but she'll certainly be well taken care of. If she has a boy though? Hooo boy, here's where it gets interesting._

_Let's talk about royal succession. What's LIKELY to happen is Tiana has brothers who are in line to be the next king when their father passes. In that case, it's the same as her having a girl. She and her child get to be rich without any major political responsibilities, unless the child ends up marrying into a neighboring kingdom (if Ixphoria even has more than one kingdom) or something when they're older. Adequate, but boring. BUT if we assume Tiana is an only child or the oldest daughter with a son, and the king has no sons of his own and no living brothers, then you miiiight be able to squeeze in the argument Tiana's kiddo is the next in line in terms of lawful lineage. King croaks. No clear rules for who should inherit the throne. He left a daughter, but a woman can't be king. Succession crisis is imminent. Treachery and civil war are brewing on the horizon. It looks like it's going to be a hopeless case where the world sacrificed everything to stop the Demon Lord only so they could wind up destroying themselves. But wait. That one daughter is holding something in her arms. She brings with her a curious little fellow who is the king's legitimate grandson and the next closest male in his direct bloodline. Theo, you ask for a miracle. I give you the FBI. If the king died while Tiana and Seiya's son was still pretty young, Tiana could find herself in a queen dowager type situation. The son is coronated as king while he's still a little tyke to follow the royal traditions, but his mother is functionally the one ruling the country until he's old enough to sit on the throne without a booster seat. That concept intrigues me. Let's have the cute healer girl rule as an Anti-Cersei who's actually helpful. Maybe she'll surprise us._

_Of course, there's the other possibility that Ixphoria is doing a Twilight Princess kinda thing where the princess IS the kingdom's highest absolute monarch and there was never a king in the equation to begin with. If that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about. Tiana AND her child are 100% set for life from the get-go. I highly doubt that's the situation, though. It doesn't really match up with the flashbacks we're shown. I don't think her retainers would let her freely wander around the open country with random plucky adventurers without several battalions of soldiers and bodyguards accompanying her if she was the active ruler of the world, especially with a looming-but-not-quite-there demon crisis afoot. She doesn't even look like royalty in the anime and only dresses up like the local village alchemist. (Her design in the original novels is basically "What if Estelle Heurassein was Mayfair from Shining Force CD?" Just a tiny bit of a difference.)_

_So in conclusion, you can sum up Tiana's future outlook as "Don't worry a single hair on your little head, darling. Everything's gonna be A-OK" with an almost 100% guarantee._

_Author's other other other note: If you want this fanfic to take place in the anime version, just remove that line with her talking about her cap and pretend she's talking about her ribbon._


	2. Closure

"_For the sake of my beloved, now what can I do? There aren't any dreams that won't come true."_

\- Akemi Satou

"_I got voodoo, I got hoodoo, I got things I ain't even tried. And I got friends on the other side."_

\- Dr. Facilier

"_Don't cross the streams."_

\- Ghostbusters

* * *

Ariadoa glanced through two mirrors showing reflections that were lifetimes apart. She gently scratched her chin in silence. A deep look of concern lingered in her eyes.

The recording to her left showed Princess Tiana sitting in a lavishly decorated chair. She was constantly surrounded by hundreds of subjects, servants, and retainers asking for her advice and offering their own. The world of Ixphoria had no threat level after being completely cleared, but the people living there still worked hard day after day to ensure the kingdom remained peaceful and prosperous.

Tiana was holding a small infant wrapped in a blanket on her lap. Any time it looked like all the attention and endless questioning was going to make her fret, she would hug the little bundle closer to her heart like a nervous girl with a teddy bear. Her calm demeanor would quickly return as if she were drawing strength from the small precious thing swaddled in her arms. The child was a boy with his father's dark hair and Tiana's small nose and round eyes. He was named Naveen.

The recording to Aria's right showed Seiya traveling down a farm road in the S-Ranked world Gaeabrande. His demeanor was quiet and focused, like a man who didn't let anything distract him when he was on a mission. He was accompanied closely by the divine being who had summoned him: the Goddess of Wisdom named Athellas. She was an electrifying little lady who often couldn't decide if the color of her long waving hair should be blue or black. History books weren't the only things she came stacked with, and the set of tail feathers she had to shake around could put most other birds to shame. She had a whole slew of nicknames she called Aria including "bug booty," "tongue trinket," "chewy chick," "frog food," and "demon dookie." She liked to boast about how she was smarter than Aria and she'd never let herself wind up as "crunchy crunchy juicy goddess nummies." She did, however, suffer from an acute weakness to projectile attacks, which often came up when she had to play shield guardian to keep Seiya out of harm. A typical conversation between Aria and Athellas went: _"Nice work clearing out that Class B, stomach stuffer." "Thank you, Ellas. I heard you got ambushed by some snipers again on that Class A. How's the hole in your spine?" "Oh, you're just a snack, Aria. You know I'm always hungry for your affection." "You're not dodging any bullets with me, Ellas. I can see right __**through**__ you!"_

The Goddess of Sealing spent forever watching her two screens in silence. On the right, a lonely swordsman fated to wander from world to world never knowing the happy life he'd lost. On the left, a princess bound to her kingdom who would be forced to go on without her true love. A pair of soulmates ripped apart by the universal boundaries of space and time.

That is, unless Aria interceded on their behalf.

The goddess sighed with restless and uncertain feelings weighing down on her mind. The older and shorter goddess Ishtar quietly appeared at her side to console her.

"What is it that's troubling you, Aria dear? You haven't been yourself these past few days."

"Tiana and Seiya," the Sealing Goddess said. "It's my fault I didn't have the party research Ixphoria's Demon Lord before we fought him. That second form caught us all off guard. It was almost a disaster until Seiya pulled through. Things could have gone so much better if I had just told them to take more time preparing."

If Athellas had been around to hear her say that, the Wisdom Goddess probably would have stuck out her tongue and yelled _"That's because __**you**__ fed him between forms, sticky tits!" _To which Aria probably would have yelled back, _"I'm sorry I don't always think things out as far you, Little Miss 'Ohhh, Look at Me! I Don't Have To Worry About Putting Any of My Eggs in One Basket Because All of Mine Are in a Cryogenic Freezer'!"_

Aria's eyes glanced longingly from the right mirror to the left mirror, and then back toward the right mirror.

"Seeing them apart like this doesn't feel right," she said quietly to Ishtar. "I was thinking maybe we could give them a second chance."

"They don't need it, Aria. It would never work," the older goddess said as she slowly shook her head with sympathy. Older and wiser, she spoke as if there wasn't a doubt in her mind.

Aria turned toward Ishtar in conflicted silence. The elder goddess bowed her head as she offered more guidance.

"When Seiya cleared the world you summoned him into, he passed on with nothing but feelings of accomplishment in his heart. Tiana and the baby were the things he cared about the most in the end, and he made sure not to leave any unfinished business. Had he died with his soul full of despair and feelings of failure, then you'd have a reason to worry. But he gladly gave his all so Tiana could have a happy ending."

Ishtar glanced toward the image of the princess cradling her child for a moment. Then she glanced toward the image of Seiya traveling stoically to his next battle.

"If he were to meet the princess now, he'd never even recognize her. All he would feel is some weak hint of joy in a place he'd never be able to explain in the back of his mind. Like a nice dream you had a long time ago but now all the details have faded from your memory. That's all."

Aria looked down as she considered the implications.

"So even if I tried to bring them together, it wouldn't be a reunion. I'd just be forcing them into an awkward meeting."

Ishtar responded with a sagely nod.

"You have nothing to blame yourself over, Aria. You accomplished your own task. You chose the best hero you could to save Ixphoria. The one who could make Tiana the most happy. You were the best goddess anyone could have prayed for."

Aria closed her eyes as she sighed in contemplation. Ishtar continued glancing toward the screen showing Gaeabrande.

"The Seiya who exists now will never remember who Tiana is. He'll have no idea how close he was to her in a previous incarnation. As far as his soul is concerned, he's already lived the best life he could in Ixphoria. Bringing him to Tiana would only cause her confusion and dig up sad feelings. The man would be Seiya to her, but it wouldn't be _**her**_ Seiya."

"Still. She wanted him to stay with her so much," Aria said with a weak lump in her throat. "They were both looking forward to it once they saved Ixphoria. I could have found a way for them if I hadn't messed up with the Demon Lord. Now she's just by herself."

Ishtar only shook her head with a friendly smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. A little part of him certainly stayed."

The mirror gazing into Ixphoria showed Tiana cheerfully closing her eyes as she tucked her sleeping infant son under her chin, rocking him in her arms as if he were the most valuable treasure in the kingdom.

"_Thank you, divines," _the healer princess whispered to herself in the recording. She must have known Heaven would be listening.

Ishtar gently brushed Aria on the shoulder to congratulate her while they watched. Aria finally started to see it the older goddess's way.

"See how happy she is with the child?" Ishtar said. "That's all the Seiya she needs. She's moved on just like he has."

Aria turned her head to look down at the shorter elder goddess. Ishtar slowly nodded back at her.

"Leave them be, Aria. We'll always keep an eye on them to make sure they stay safe, but we shouldn't try to manipulate their lives just to make ourselves feel better. It's better this way."

Sighing and shaking the last of her regrets out of her head, Aria closed the two recordings. She considered Ishtar's advice and never touched on the issue again.

* * *

_Author's note: Yeah but what about that Colt guy tho._

_Author's other note: I used the name "Athellas" because "Palutena" was already taken._


End file.
